RSF and National Research Foundation of Korea exchanged practices to ensure targeted funding

Дата публикации:
23 May 2017

The Russian Science Foundation and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) held the joint workshop on May 18, 2017. The workshop was focused around the best practices for monitoring the appropriate expenditure of grants in the course of the implementation of research projects funded.

The event was chaired by the head of the RSF Office of Programs and Projects, Andrey Blinov and by the head of the audit department, chief auditor of NRF, Mr. Shim Soon. The parties examined in detail the internal regulations and procedures aimed to control the expenditure of their grants, discussed specific cases of alleged fraud and research misconduct that caught the public's attention in both countries, the law enforcement practices of returning funds to the funders in case of a failure to execute the grant agreements as well as the preventive measures used by the funders targeting to ensure the appropriate and ethical use of grant funds.

"It is with great interest we got acquainted with the mechanisms developed by the Russian Science Foundation to control the expenditure of funds, in particular with the system of annual monitoring of the implementation of grant agreements, which makes it possible to minimize significantly the risks of misuse of grants," Mr. Shim Soon said.

"The problems of research and financial ethics caught not only attention of the research communities in Russia and South Korea. This is a common challenge for many research funders around the world. The RSF model of tripartite grant agreements between the Foundation, the team leader and the host Russian organization allows us to specify the responsibilities of all parties involved, including the responsibility for the scientific and financial component of each project supported. We will be very pleased if our experience turns useful for our Korean colleagues"- concluded Andrey Blinov.

The participants noted the results of the discussion will contribute to further strengthening the mutual trust between two research funders.